Grayscale Research Releases Its Top 20 Tokens List for Q2 2025, Adding RWA, DePIN and IP Tokenization

At the beginning of each quarter, Grayscale selects the top 20 tokens with the greatest growth potential from hundreds of digital assets.

Tokens are becoming an increasingly integral part of the cryptocurrency landscape. As blockchain technology continues to evolve, tokens are emerging as a versatile tool for diverse use cases. From fractionalized real-world assets (RWA) to decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) and the burgeoning realm of intellectual property (IP) tokenization, the possibilities seem endless.

In the first quarter of 2025, cryptocurrency valuations adjusted broadly, in tandem with tech stocks and other risk assets. The market-cap-weighted cryptocurrency industry price index declined 18% over the quarter (figures are as of Friday, March 21), but Bitcoin and some other cryptocurrencies saw less decline or even price increases (e.g., XRP). The weakest segments this quarter were Consumer & Cultural, largely due to declines in DOGE and other meme coins.

Among the broadest indicators of Bitcoin network activity, those related to user activity generally performed well in Q1. For example, the number of addresses with a balance greater than or equal to $1 reached a new high of 48 million. In contrast, monthly active on-chain users remained relatively flat quarter-over-quarter at 11 million. This widening difference between the two metrics suggests that recent demand for Bitcoin may be coming from users more interested in its function as a “store of value” rather than a “medium of exchange.” Bitcoin’s hash rate rose to nearly 800 exahash (EH/s) in Q1, which translates to a network of 5-6 million Bitcoin mining machines around the world attempting to solve the PoW algorithm at a computing power of about 800 trillion times per second.

Fundamental indicators for the smart contract platforms space generally declined in early 2025, largely due to a pullback in meme coin trading activity on the Solana blockchain. Although meme coins offer no real-world utility and can carry a particularly high risk for investors, interest in meme coin trading may have brought many new users to the Solana ecosystem. According to Token Terminal, Solana’s monthly active users reached 140 million at the end of 2024Q4 and averaged nearly 90 million in Q1 2025. Even with the slowdown in meme coin transactions, Solana still generated about $390 million in fees in Q1, roughly half of the smart contract platform’s estimated total fee-generating capacity.

Grayscale’s Crypto Sectors framework includes three application-related crypto asset classes: Financial, Consumer & Cultural, and Utilities & Services. These segments include all components of on-chain economic activity, including user-facing applications, related application infrastructure (e.g., oracles and cross-chain bridges), and specialized blockchains. As such, the category is highly diverse, and we believe it is best to evaluate them based on similar assets that are focused on specific areas. That being said, for assets in these three application-related crypto categories, we estimate the total cost to be approximately $2.6 billion, up 99% from Q1 2024.

The chart below provides some key fundamental statistics for various parts of the digital asset market. Overall, these metrics have seen good growth compared to the same period last year, but mixed changes compared to the previous quarter.

Every quarter, the Grayscale Research team analyzes hundreds of digital assets to inform the revaluation process of the FTSE/Grayscale Crypto Sectors Index. After this process, Grayscale Research generates a list of the Top 20 Crypto Sectors assets. The Top 20 represents a diverse range of assets in the cryptocurrency industry that we believe have high potential in the coming quarter, combining a range of factors including network growth/adoption, upcoming catalysts, sustainability of fundamentals, token valuations, token supply inflation, and potential tail risks.

Among the tokens that performed best in Q1 2025 are Optimism (OP), Bittensor (BIXL), and Akash (AKT). Optimism is a well-known Ethereum scaling solution, Bittensor is an emerging project focused on the intersection of blockchain and AI development, and Akash is a decentralized cloud computing platform. These three tokens have seen strong price performance and are expected to continue to be closely watched in Q2 2025.

Among the tokens that performed worst in Q1 2025 are Chainlink (LINK), a decentralized oracle network, and Render (RNDR), a project focused on rendering and 3D graphics processing. Both tokens have seen significant price declines from their highs reached in 2024.

Overall, Q1 2025 saw mixed performance from the cryptocurrency market. Some tokens and segments performed better than others, and investors are encouraged to stay informed about the latest developments in the rapidly changing crypto landscape.

As interest in crypto continues to grow, so too does interest in the tokens that power the applications used by millions around the world. From scaling solutions to metaverse projects, there is